Genevieve; the Third of January by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Chapter 17

Over at Clara and Barney’s, their son Gizmo was showing his first signs of having become disenchanted with “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.” He had been diligently playing the game since Christmas day and had quickly risen to a worldwide ranking of 238,516.

He then challenged the player who was ranked #14. #14

accepted the challenge and Gizmo won fairly easily. Gizmo found that after that win his ranking had only increased to 237,017.

He multi-tasked information available on the web which in not so many words said; “Assuming a commonly reasonable level of skill, rankings are most determined by time of usage and the degree to which one wins. Therefore playing many games against poor opponents is the key to high standings.”

Gizmo was unimpressed with the elementary and minimally competitive mechanics of the “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard system.

In fact, he was extremely disappointed. What was the point in trying to become good at something; if one is only recognized for time spent? Had he been an adult hominid he would have known that this was the nature of the workplace; but that would have had no relevance to him anyway.

He further noted that no matter how much he tried to brighten it, the screen was on the dark side; worse than the

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winter drear he occasionally glimpsed through a window. He knew enough of computers, photography, and film to understand that this could be the result of the developer having used darkness as a cheap way to “hide” poor visuals. Gizmo was further disenchanted. For the first time since Christmas he shut the system down, feeling duped and disgusted at every level he was capable of imagining; most strongly at his own prolonged and uninterrupted participation.

Gizmo’s last dark screenshot; property of the author.

Gizmo went into the kitchen where his folks were playing a card game; a variation of rummy wherein one could bet and fold early. He felt strange in that he didn’t want to say that he was tired of their Christmas gift, as he had no way of realizing that was exactly what they wanted to hear.

Clara said; “Oh, you have returned to being a member of the ambulatory set.”

Barney laughed louder than he should have.

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Gizmo made a polite smile and proceeded to the refrigerator. He wasn’t really hungry or thirsty, so he stood there with the door open and stared at the Marburger Farm Dairy fat free skim milk in the gallon container, replete with fat-soluble nutrients like Vitamins A and E; Skim milk; property of the author.

Pittman and Davis’ Florida honeybells, oranges, ruby red grapefruit, navel oranges, and other exciting fruits washed, cut, and stored in clear plastic wrappings, including a free offer to join the exclusive monthly fruit club;

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kExciting fruits: property of the author.

Boar’s Head non-GMO and gluten-free hummus with premium ingredients inclusive of steamed chickpeas, sea salt, olive oil, tahini, as well as a variety of savory spices; Hummus; property of the author.

Fage’s low fat yogurt to make every meal extraordinary with Greece’s #1, with all natural ingredients for a perfect snack;

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Used and lumpy container of low fat yogurt; property of the author.

Wadda’s undiluted and un-concentrated fruit juice, dispelling any need to further dilute with water or seltzer in Mott’s for Tot’s boxes perfect for car trips, in a dispenser best not confused with the mustard for the benefit of any nearby hot dogs;

Would you believe fruit juice?; property of the author.

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(Rumors which suggest that the above picture is of something ominous which wants to work its damaging way into your home are the unproven fodder of unscrupulous conspiracy theory opportunists.) and to end the appetizing, informative, and beneficial assertions, Mojave’s bagged salads with darker greens like mesclun or field greens for juicing or making smoothies which provides a nutrient dense, convenient and pre-washed way to provide more kale and spinach in your diet in a fun, easy, and tasty way to eat more greens.

Bagged greens; property of the author.

After closing the door empty-handed, Gizmo finally asked;

“What’s a GMO and a fruit club?”

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Clara said; “A GMO is a genetically modified organism, oddity, organizationally-induced-waste, or something like that.

A fruit club? I don’t know. Maybe your dad can offer something.”

Barney cleared his throat. “I suppose that it’s a club for those who have an extraordinary appreciation for fruits. Are you taking a break from ‘Resident Evil?’”

Gizmo said; “I guess. ....... I’ve been spending too much time with it. ......... I’ll go back. The game is fun to play.

The ‘competitive’ aspect could be improved though.”

Barney and Clara temporarily forgot about their rummy game, though they still held on to their cards. They quizzically looked at Gizmo.

Gizmo said; “Like I said the game is fun to play by yourself. But the on-line competition is really just a matter of endurance. The better players are not those with the highest rank. I’ve already beaten #14, but am I now ranked in the top 50? No, I’m still number 200,000 something, and now I can’t get a game against any of the top ranked. ......... Probably doesn’t matter in a way, as they’re not necessarily good anyhow. They just accumulate a lot of points by beating poor players by wide margins and playing a lot.”

Clara put her cards down face up, and said; “Your father and I are playing rummy. We play equally as well as it’s a

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simple game. Sometimes he wins; sometimes I do. You can see here that as soon as I get a fourth seven, I’ll have rummy.”

Barney put his cards down face up and said; “And when I get a fourth eight I’ll have rummy. It’s just pure chance which one of those will come up first in the unturned stack.”

Clara said; “And then we’ll play another game. ...... So, it’s competitive in the sense that each individual game has a winner and a loser, but that evens out with more games.”

Gizmo said; “’Resident Evil’ isn’t like that. It’s not a game of two. It’s a tournament styled game involving millions and the tabulation of winners has nothing to do with ability or even chance.”

Barney said; “Some ‘games’ are like that. In this case the

‘winner’ is the website which maximizes the number of hours the

‘players’ spend there, and probably use that to sell advertising space. Some ‘games’ are best avoided. Have you checked to see if other sites might offer a truer form of competition?”

Before Gizmo could reply, Clara interjected with; “And is the competition necessary for you?”

Gizmo said; “No, I haven’t checked; and I’m not sure.

That’s a difficult question. If it’s there, then it should be done fairly, and if it’s not then I probably can live without it. ........ Don’t hold me to that. That’s an immediate response, and I might change my mind.” He laughed.

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Clara said; “Let me show you something.” The other two followed Clara to Gizmo’s computer set up, and she made some entries. She brought up a game called ‘Sims4.’ Clara added;

“There are no ‘better’ objectives; just equal alternatives.”

Barney said; “So, it’s like life? Nobody has yet devised a way to keep score?”

Clara said; “I guess. ........ And it’s free.”

The screen flashed “Sims4 is a colorful ‘game,’ based on real life situations, and is not the least bit competitive, no matter how that term may be considered. Players control their Sims in various activities and can form relationships. There is no final goal of any kind and gameplay is nonlinear. When a player creates a Sim, they may choose not only from physical characteristics, but from emotional states, which effects social interaction, user interface, and personality.” Visuals appeared; that being four young hominid females.

Gizmo said; “Let me try this for a while,” and positioned himself in front of the screen.

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Stylized copy of Sims4 screenshot; property of the author.

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